Manuel Hedilla

Manuel Hedilla (18 July 1902-4 February 1970) was a Spanish politician who was a leading member of the Falange party and an early rival of Francisco Franco.

Biography
Manuel Hedilla was born in Ambrosero, Cantabria, Spain on 18 July 1902, and he worked as a mechanic and at a Catholic daily farm cooperative. While working here, he joined the traditionalist wing of the Falange, and he became a close associate of Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera. Hedilla was briefly leader of Falange during the period between Primo de Rivera's death and Francisco Franco's assumption of power. Hedilla emerged as the leader of the left-wing faction within the Falange party, supporting syndicalism and the empowerment of the proletariat. In 1937, Franco had him arrested and sentenced to death for attempting to seize power within the Falangist movement, but his sentence was later commuted; he served just four years in prison. He died in 1970.